Along with hiking near NYC and visiting many easily-accessible locations, and hiking frequently on famous trails like the Appalachian Trail, our huge repertory of locations and often unique trip itineraries include a number of little-known areas that are well-off-the-beaten-path.

On our hikes and other excursions we explore many of the region’s most spectacular mountain ranges, enjoying (and letting ourselves be inspired by) lovely scenery that includes splendid mountain vistas, pristine lakes, rushing streams, wild rivers, and roaring waterfalls.

On most Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year we offer one-day trips -- in NY, NJ, CT, PA and MA. Day hikes make up the vast majority of the over 90 trips we offer each year, and they range in difficulty from easy to strenuous.

From May-October our schedule also features wilderness camping and backpacking trips (typically for 4 days and 3 nights) an average of once a month -- peaceful and memorable wilderness vacations, with a good measure of adventure mixed in, which take us to some truly spectacular wilderness areas in New York, Virginia, and sometimes other states. Plus we offer one-day snowshoe hikes and cross country ski trips during the winter months when there’s enough snow for these activities.

Who Are We?

​Wild Earth Adventures is a business and also a 37-year-old hiking club, currently with nearly 300 members, many of whom join us regularly (and often enthusiastically) -- as frequently as weekly or biweekly -- on our day hikes and other activities including backpacking, wilderness camping, and snowshoeing.

We get a great (congenial, fun & interesting) group on the trips, both members and non-members. You don’t have to be a member to participate, but fees are lower and members who pre-pay for multiple trips get major discounts. For more about memberships and fees, and how to join, go to Become a Member and Trip Info & Fees.

Transportation from New York City is available on all of our outings for those who live in the NYC metropolitan area or who choose to ride with us from the city. Participants who live elsewhere -- and our trips attract substantial numbers of people from upstate New York, northern New Jersey, western & central Connecticut, eastern Pennsylvania, and other nearby states -- drive directly and meet us at our destinations.

Until 1990 we were headquartered in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and since then have been located in Rockland County, New York. We're currently based just outside of Suffern, about 35 miles northwest of NYC. Beginners are welcome on the trips, as are experienced hikers and other outdoor/nature enthusiasts. Instruction and additional assistance are always available for those who need it.

More About Us...

​﻿﻿Our founder and director is Charles ("Charlie") Cook -- a New York State Licensed Guide, the author of five outdoor books, and a well-known NY hiking and wilderness expert who has led more than 2300 trips and hiked an estimated 70,000+ miles. In the 1970s he was one of the first 100 people to hike the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail end-to-end from Georgia to Maine in a single trip. Whereas many groups have a number of different leaders, Charlie guides ALL of our trips.

Our hikes have been praised in a wide variety of media, including New York magazine, the NY Daily News, and USA Today, and one of our trips was the subject of an article in the New York Times Magazine (2/4/07). Charlie was also interviewed on the national NBC Nightly News. 2017 is our 37th year!

If you’re interested in hiking near NYC or elsewhere in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, eastern Pennsylvania, or southwestern Massachusetts -- and want to explore some of the region’s most scenic natural areas, and share a memorable time with a diverse, interesting, and often delightful group of people -- consider joining ​and reserving for some trips today!

​ Interested in Joining Us? Here's How to Get Started

​(1) If you're not already on our e-mail list, go to the "Would you like to be on our e-mail list" section near the bottom right-hand side of this page, fill in the boxes, and press the Submit button.

(2 ) Take a look at our Trip Schedule, where you'll find a listing of our trips for the next 12 months. You'll note that day hikes are rated in difficulty from easy to strenuous. Choose one or more dates, if you're ready to, and note them down. If you're not sure which level of difficulty is right for you, please e-mail us or call (845)357-3380 for advice.

(5) If you'd like to learn more about hiking in general -- including hiking gear, safety, weather considerations, etc. -- go to Hiking Essentials, which consists of several pages.

(6) When you're ready to join us and/or to reserve for trips, go to the Reserve for a Trip page and print out the all-purpose form.

​(7) Fill out the relevant portions of the form, including your contact information. If you want to become a member, choose among various membership options. If you're ready to reserve for one or more hikes or other trips, circle the date or dates you're interested in.

​(8) Mail the form, along with a check or money order, to the address near the bottom of the form (sorry, it's not possible to reserve or make payment through the website). When the form with your payment reaches us, an e-mail acknowledgement will be sent to you, as well as a separate confirmation for any trips you've reserved for, which will include info about what to bring, the meeting time and place, etc.

​(9) If you have questions, or need clarification about fees or anything else, don't hesitate to call us at (845)357-3380 or e-mail us (at the bottom of most pages is a Contact Us or Email Us link). Also, feel free to get in touch to check on space as late as the day or evening before a trip (you won't have to mail in the form if we do have room). And let us know anytime you're reserving for a trip that's less than a week away.

​(10) Get ready to enjoy some memorable hikes with us in the beautiful mountains and natural areas of the Northeast!

Spring Calendar

Yes, Spring is here once again... it’s time for warmer temperatures, brighter skies, gorgeous new foliage, fragrant wildflowers, and hyperactive birdlife and wildlife -- which can fill our senses to overflowing when we enter the natural world.

Is spring’s arrival a problem for you? (Doubtful!) Spring does tend to arrive in fits and starts, often with brief bouts of wintry weather interspersed, but sunny and mild days should be more and more common in the coming weeks, as the days get longer and the natural environment becomes an increasingly luxuriant and radiant green realm.

It’s time to reconnect with nature as it comes into full bloom. Time to prepare to enjoy the myriad pleasures, fulfillments and adventures of the wilder places. Time to make this season a memorable one!

Wild Earth Adventures was founded by Charlie Cook on July 10, 1980, and we’ve been offering hikes and wilderness trips and tours almost continuously ever since. A sizable number of people join us regularly on outings, but we also hear from many others who say they wish they could find more time for activities like hiking, wilderness camping, backpacking,snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and enjoying nature in general -- which isn’t always the easiest thing to accomplish when you’re leading a busy life. How are your priorities lining up these days? Can you imagine how devoting more of your weekends to exploring the magnificent mountain scenery of the Northeast might enrich your life?

Why Join a Hiking Club?

​Hiking clubs provide a great way to connect with others who enjoy hiking and communing with nature, or who are interested in getting involved for the first time. Most clubs offer a schedule of guided hikes in a variety of natural locations on trails that you might not always find on your own.

Granted there’s a breed of experienced hiker who is independent-minded and adventurous, who enjoys discovering and exploring natural areas alone or with a friend. But hiking clubs meet the needs of many of us who have limited free time and may not be inclined to venture out by ourselves (because of safety considerations, and/or a preference for sharing with others the pleasures and fun of a nature-based activity like hiking).

Hiking clubs, hiking groups, and other outdoor organizations are widespread in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and other northeastern states (and the rest of the country). Since opportunities for hiking near NYC are so extensive, the New York City metropolitan area alone is home to dozens of hiking clubs.

Some are small and don’t have websites or advertise, and quite a few cater to or are associated with particular groups (some clubs in NYC, upstate NY, NJ & CT are affiliated with colleges, religious institutions, or ethnic organizations). But the majority of hiking clubs welcome anyone who wants to join and participate.

Most clubs are run by volunteers, and their hikes are guided by volunteers. Some clubs and hiking groups are extremely casual and loosely-run, while others are well-organized and offer an extensive hike schedule.

​Wild Earth Adventures is different in a number of ways from other hiking clubs, outdoor organizations, and outdoor businesses (you can read much more about us on this site, of course) -- including the fact that all of our huge repertory of hikes and wilderness trips are led by a single person, well-known hiking and wilderness author/expert/guide Charlie Cook.

However you found your way to our website, chances are you’re someone who loves hiking or who would like to become a hiker, and you’re probably looking for others to share it with. In our busy world it isn’t always easy to find friends or companions to hike with.

If you become a member of Wild Earth Adventures you’ll be joining what people frequently tell us is one of the best and most interesting hiking clubs in this part of the country, with an endless array of hikes to choose from on weekends year-round, and hundreds of fellow-members to meet and share memorable times with -- hiking near NYC as well as throughout the most scenic natural areas of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and other northeastern states.

Hiking Trips

​Hiking trips can last as little as a few hours, or as long as you want or can imagine -- days, weeks, or (for the most adventurous among us) even months.

Limits are likely to be imposed by your level of fitness, ambition, resources, and how much free time you have available.

For some people, a hiking trip or hiking tour is an outing with a maximum timespan of a day -- to be followed by a relaxing evening at home. Millions of hikers limit themselves to day hikes: one-day hiking trips or hiking tours. And there’s no reason why "a day in the wild" can’t define the extent of your hiking ambition.

It’s very possible, while sticking to day hikes, to go hiking regularly and often. Some avid hikers hit the trails as frequently as once or twice (or more) each week.

For others, longer hiking trips or extended hiking tours beckon. More than a few enthusiasts find that at some point, a single day no longer suffices. The idea of multiple days of hiking, camping, and wilderness exploration becomes irresistible.

Overnight hiking trips that involve carrying everything in a full-size backpack so you’re completely self-sufficient -- and camping out at night, and typically hiking to other campsites along a trail -- are usually called backpacking trips.

Overnight hiking trips that involve setting up a base camp in a wilderness area -- from which you can take day hikes -- are often called wilderness camping trips.

And multi-day trips where hiking is your primary activity during the day, but you’re not camping out -- but rather staying in cabins, at lodges, country inns, bed and breakfasts, or other accommodations -- are sometimes referred to as hiking vacations.

In a sense, though, ALL hiking trips are hiking vacations -- since even a day hike is, in effect, a mini-vacation from the fray of everyday life. And like any vacation, a successful hiking trip is likely to leave you feeling refreshed, restored, and renewed.

In the early years of Wild Earth Adventures (the 1980s) we regularly offered hiking vacations utilizing indoor accommodations, but since that time we’ve chosen to specialize in wilderness camping and backpacking trips for our overnight offerings.

You'll find our schedule of overnight trips, as well as our year-round schedule of day hikes, on the Trip Schedule page. If you're interested in camping and/or backpacking, see our Wilderness Camping & Backpacking page for details about what such trips involve, including necessary gear.​

View Slideshows of photos taken on our trips

Would you like to be on our E-mail list?

​We send out a weekly e-mail newsletter ("Update") that features news and commentary about hiking and related subjects, short selections of nature writing and poetry, a link to a slideshow of "latest trip photos," announcements about schedule changes, and other news of interest to hikers and others who want to stay connected with the natural world.

Many of our members and others tell us they like or love receiving the weekly newsletters. To get on our list, simply enter your name and e-mail in the boxes below and press the "Submit" button (be assured that we will never sell, rent, or give your e-mail address to anyone).